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Selvedge Jeans

Roll up the cuff of your jeans and take a look. Selvedge is a technical term that stems from old school shuttle looms; it refers to the narrow and tightly woven, self-finished edges on the fabric that look like bands running down each side. True denimheads really, really love their selvedge finishes.

Why We Love Selvedge

True denimheads love their selvedge edges! Selvedge refers to narrow, self-finished edges; they’re the natural endings on fabric that’s been woven on an old school shuttle loom. Roll up your jeans and take a look — you’ll see it on the interior (so you need to cuff up the hem to show off the selvedge finish).

Selvedge Colours

Selvedge is usually white and has a coloured thread in the middle, which was originally added to help manufacturers recognise the different qualities that they were producing for various clients. Although red thread has become synonymous with selvedge fabric, DENHAM styles often feature special colours in the weave.

The History of Selvedge

Selvedge fabrics are woven on narrow 28-30” shuttle looms. In the 1970s and ‘80s these were replaced by more effective and wider 58-60” projectile looms. Although the older narrow looms produce denim fabrics at a slower rate, their shuttle technology also produces more natural irregularities across the denim’s surface. These irregularities come to life when subjected to special wash-and-wear-pattern recipes, and can produce more beautiful finishing effects.